With the rise of the cloud (Cloud Computing), terms such as SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), among others, became popular, including the whole universe of services offered by Big Tech (Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure, Google) and smaller companies.
This time I explain what CaaS (Cybercrime as a service) consists of.
What is Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) and How It Works
CaaS is the product or service offered by a cybercriminal, experienced in advanced tools or services that he puts up for sale or rent to other cybercriminals with less experience.
In this way, other bad actors with little experience and/or without much money will have access to all kinds of necessary digital resources to commit cybercrimes, for example:
- malicious computer programs (malware),
- botnets,
- ransomware,
- databases of stolen personal information,
- penetration tests of potential targets,
- investigations in open sources.
This, like any service in the cloud (as a Service), leads us to have better providers, which will have higher quality due to competition and a reduction in the entry requirements for aspiring cyber criminals, since they can be people without computer skills.
Cybercrime is often offered in separated groups or categories:
- Fraud-as-a-Service (FaaS): We just wrote and published a guide about it.
- Malware as a Service (MaaS): In this group, we find viruses and Trojans, which are also offered in kits.
- Data-as-a-Service (DaaS): Exchange and supply stolen data.
- Hacking as a Service (HaaS): They provide hacking services to meet customer needs.
It is important to note that CaaS companies also make use of marketing and communication services, just like legal companies do, to publicize their “products and services.”
So they aren’t as anonymous as anyone could think. For that reason, it’s important to learn the best practices to protect yourself from cybercrime as a service, considering how easy it’s for people to get their help.
How to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS)
To protect ourselves from this type of attack, we must pay attention to details, especially when we click on links, also confirm by alternative means everything that catches our attention, and be vigilant when making payments or online purchases.
Despite the fact that there are protective barriers that make it very difficult for malware to enter devices, cybercriminals are aware that there are security gaps due to the human factor and therefore use social engineering as a tool to infect ‘malware’ the devices.
In addition, to avoid being victims of malware and protect our devices from these attacks, it is necessary to:
- Download applications only from official markets and always keep them updated.
- Avoid downloading attachments from unknown or unusual senders.
- Avoid logging into web pages reached via links; instead, access them by typing the page into the reference browser.
Of course, these are just over-the-top measures that almost every “IT guy” would tell afraid customers. But we’re different.
Instead, MyITGuy experts will answer all of your doubts and solve all of your problems.
Don’t you want your business to fall into cyber criminals’ hands, right?